New research from ABTA’s Holiday Habits 2024-25 report shows there has been a year-on-year rise in people booking their holidays with a travel professional (travel agent or tour operator), with customers increasingly appreciating the help and support they can provide¹.

In the past 12 months, almost two in five (38%) people booked their holiday with a travel professional, up from just over a third (34%) in the previous 12 months.

While more people cited the ease of booking in this way as the main advantage (up from 51% last year to 54% this year), this was followed by the reassurance that someone is there to help them if something goes wrong – which has risen significantly from 34% last year to 43% this year.

This could be due to the varied, high-profile challenges that holidaymakers have faced in the past year or so – from wildfires to a UK air traffic control issue at the end of summer 2023 – where they’ve realised the value of having an expert to rely on when their travel plans are disrupted.

Those working in the travel industry are, of course, well-versed at managing the vast range of unpredictable events that their clients may occasionally face, with the knowledge and connections to support customers where needed.

Travel professionals are also growing their popularity among young families and young people, a trend that has been steadily building over the past five years. In 2019, 36% of families with young children and 36% of 18-24-year-olds said they booked a holiday with a travel professional in the previous 12 months, which has risen to 55% this year for young families, and to 48% of those aged 18-24.

Package holidays continue to be the most popular way to travel overseas, booked by 62% of people who travelled abroad in the past 12 months (61% last year), rising to 77% of families and 71% of 18-24-year-olds. The cost was the number one reason for booking a package, with 44% saying it was the best value option for the price (up from 42% last year), followed by 38% appreciating the time-saving benefits (up from 34%) and 37% citing the fact that everything is taken care of (up from 33%).

The Holiday Habits 2024-25 report can be found at abta.com.

¹Statistics cited in this release are from ABTA’s annual Holiday Habits survey to find out how people travelled in the 12 months prior and what their travel plans are for the year ahead. The research is carried out each summer with a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults by The Nursery Research and Planning, with the latest survey taking place from 24 July to 2 August 2024.